BORNE by Jeff VanderMeer
“About that thing on the cover—is it a genetically modified bird-of-paradise? Some cousin of the odoriferous corpse flower? I was intrigued from the moment I saw it, as is Rachel, the postapocalyptic scavenger who finds the improbably sentient and mutable creature—who ‘smelled of beach reeds on lazy summer afternoons and, beneath the sea salt, of passionflowers’—while picking through the fur of the gargantuan flying bear that terrorizes her devastated city. And then things start to get weird.” — Carolyn Juris, features editor

ISADORA by Amelia Gray
“Gray’s most recent book, the story collection GUTSHOT, was weird as hell and as visceral as its title. Whose life would be better for her to fictionalize, then, than that of notorious mother of modern dance Isadora Duncan? An openly bisexual communist and atheist in an era that condemned all three, Duncan was famous for wearing long, flowing scarves even up until her death, when her scarf got caught in one of the axles of the car she was riding in. Flung from the vehicle, Duncan died of a broken neck—a tragic end that will surely make for a riveting finale in Gray’s novel.” — John Maher, assistant news editor

THE PEOPLE WE HATE AT THE WEDDING by Grant Ginder
Ginder takes family dysfunction to its hysterical limit in this joyously ribald novel about siblings Alice and Paul begrudgingly attending the lavish wedding of their half-sister, Eloise, in England. Lovesick Alice and Paul—both in doomed relationships—see Eloise as the snotty daughter of a rich dad, and Donna, their mother, as a coldhearted widow who ditched all remnants of their father after his death. During the boozy pre-wedding days, the resentment and secrets come tumbling out in outbursts and hilariously bad decisions. readmoreremove